VICE President Sara Duterte’s husband Manases Carpio withdrew P41 million in six transactions from two banks on Aug. 6, 2024, but this amount was not reflected in their joint statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for that year, the impeachment trial prosecution said Monday.
Testifying on Day 33 of Vice President Duterte’s impeachment trial, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura identified six covered transaction reports (CTRs) involving Carpio on the same date. The transactions consisted of two check encashments and four over-the-counter cash withdrawals.
Of the P41 million, P23 million was withdrawn from BDO Unibank Inc., while P18 million was withdrawn from Philippine National Bank, based on the AMLC records presented in court.
“It was withdrawn from the account of Manases Carpio,” Buenaventura said in response to a question from House private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia about the account involved.
Divinagracia said the prosecution would use the transactions to support its allegations of unexplained wealth against Duterte, pointing out that the couple’s 2024 joint SALN did not declare cash on hand or in bank.
“Her husband walked out of two banks with P41 million in cash in a single day, but this is not reflected in their joint SALN,” Divinagracia said.
Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan objected to the presentation of Carpio’s bank transactions, arguing that Carpio is not an impeachable official.
Presiding Officer Francis Escudero overruled the objection, noting that Duterte and Carpio are married and that the prosecution was presenting the records in connection with allegations involving the vice president’s assets.
Buenaventura also identified several large cash transactions involving Duterte in December 2024, when she was already vice president.
These included a P2.37-million withdrawal from Land Bank of the Philippines on Dec. 5, a P5.97-million withdrawal from BDO on Dec. 20, and a P1.7 million check encashment from Metrobank on the same date.
Divinagracia said the prosecution would later present evidence concerning time deposits from 2020 to 2022 that it claims were also not reflected in Duterte’s SALNs.
She described the alleged omissions as part of a “pattern of non-disclosure.” The prosecution is presenting the evidence under Article 2 of the impeachment complaint, which involves allegations concerning Duterte’s declaration of assets and alleged unexplained wealth.
Suspicious transactions
Buenaventura also testified that AMLC filed a number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) involving Vice President Duterte, citing allegations arising from the flood control bribery scandal, drug trafficking and the misuse of public funds.
Buenaventura confirmed two STRs filed in 2019 involving an account under Duterte’s name.
Divinagracia pointed to two reports dated July 4 and Nov. 15, 2019, which she described as premium payments to Mercantile Insurance Company Inc.
Reading from the reports, Buenaventura said the stated reason for filing the STRs was “graft and corrupt practices.” He said the reports’ narratives cited news reports identifying individuals and corporations allegedly involved in the flood control bribery scandal.
“Several news outlets recently released a list of individuals and corporations identified as being involved in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control issue prompting the filing of a suspicious transaction report,” Buenaventura said, reading from the report.
The defense objected, arguing that the 2019 transactions did not help establish a baseline of Duterte’s wealth.
Divinagracia countered that the prosecution was presenting the transactions to show a pattern.
Escudero allowed the questioning to proceed.
Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan later argued that the narrative did not establish a link between the corporation involved in the transactions and the corporations identified in the news reports.
Escudero said the defense could raise that issue during cross-examination.
A “covered person,” Buenaventura said, refers to a bank or other institution required to report covered or suspicious transactions to the AMLC.
Buenaventura also testified about an STR involving Duterte that cited “drug trafficking and related offenses.” According to the AMLC records, the transaction took place on Aug. 1, 2024, and involved Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank).
He also read an STR filed by BDO Life Assurance concerning a Dec. 5, 2024 transaction that cited “malversation of public funds and property.” Reading from the report’s narrative, Buenaventura said: “The client is alleged to have misappropriated confidential funds to her office in the Office of the Vice President (OVP).” The allegations contained in the STRs were presented as part of the AMLC records submitted to the impeachment court and do not by themselves establish that the alleged offenses occurred.
The testimony came as the Senate impeachment court examined AMLC records on financial transactions involving Duterte and her husband covering 2007 to 2025.
According to the AMLC summary presented to the court, the couple was linked to 666 covered transaction reports (CTRs) and 55 STRs with an aggregate value of P4.4 billion.
Duterte accounted for 373 CTRs and 34 STRs involving P3,732,047,162.46 in reported transactions, Buenaventura said.
The amount included P1,410,325,513.08 in recorded inflows, P1,058,134,730.68 in outflows and P1,263,586,918.70 in transactions that could not be definitively classified as either inflows or outflows.
Asked by Divinagracia how many CTRs were recorded under Duterte’s name, Buenaventura replied: “Based only on this summary, it’s 373, Your Honor.” Carpio, meanwhile, was linked to 363 CTRs and 30 STRs involving P749,921,267.64 in reported transactions.
His records showed P220,026,094.60 in inflows, P249,988,796 in outflows and P279,906,376.94 in transactions that could not be classified as either inflows or outflows.
To avoid double counting transactions involving joint accounts, the AMLC deducted 70 CTRs, nine STRs and P81,878,489.40 that appeared in the records of both Duterte and Carpio.
After the adjustment, the AMLC arrived at net aggregate transactions of P4,400,089,940.70 involving the couple, consisting of P1,630,351,607.68 in inflows, P1,308,123,526.68 in outflows and P1,461,614,806.24 in unclassified transactions.
Buenaventura also testified about individual transactions from bank accounts jointly held by Duterte and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
One was an over-the-counter cash withdrawal of P9,109,644.80 from a Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) account at its Julia Vargas branch on April 8, 2013.
Divinagracia presented the transaction, identified by reference number 0414130000032809, and asked Buenaventura to explain the entry.
Buenaventura said the transaction carried the code “CWDLO,” which, under the AMLC reporting manual, indicates an over-the-counter cash withdrawal.
“This account is owned by former president Rodrigo Duterte [and] Vice President Sara Duterte,” Buenaventura testified.
Divinagracia also presented another transaction from the same joint account dated March 9, 2011, involving $225,581.94, or P9,785,744.55.
Buenaventura said the transaction was reported by BPI and involved an account held by former president Duterte and Vice President Duterte.
Before presenting Duterte’s financial records, Divinagracia asked Buenaventura to identify warning signs that banks and other covered institutions should watch for when assessing potentially suspicious transactions.
Buenaventura cited large or frequent cash withdrawals that appear beyond a client’s financial capacity, as well as transactions with no apparent underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or economic justification.
He said the AMLC can more readily trace funds while they remain within the banking system, but tracking becomes more difficult once money is withdrawn in cash.
Buenaventura also cautioned against treating the aggregate figures in the reports as a direct measure of Duterte and Carpio’s wealth.
He said STRs are only a “starting point” for AMLC analysis and investigation. The reports, he added, do not by themselves establish how much money the couple held at any given time.
Buenaventura testified that the impeachment court had subpoenaed AMLC records covering Duterte, Carpio and 20 entities from 2007 to 2025.
The AMLC submitted covered and suspicious transaction reports involving the couple, as well as intelligence and investigation reports, in response to the subpoena.
Of the 20 entities named in the subpoena, only Cale88 Foods Corp. and 888 Bistro were the subject of STRs, Buenaventura said.
Thirteen entities had covered transaction reports only, while five had no records in the AMLC documents submitted to the court.
Cale88 Foods, a banana chips exporter partly owned by Carpio, has been cited by prosecutors in allegations involving remittances from Chinese companies.
